The Baker's Mistress
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: I wrote this in a single day when I wondered what would happen if a married Katniss Hawthorne had an affair with Peeta... when she was a mother and he was, well... Read to find out. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: We'd Kill Each Other

**Chapter 1: We'd Kill Each Other**

"Cassie Lannai!" And just like that, the female tribute for District 12 has been called, and I am free of the Hunger Games forever.

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am 18 years old and have just watched the Reaping for the 76th Annual Hunger Games. My 14-year-old sister, Primrose, is safe for another year as well. It is a miracle she has gone three whole Reaping without getting picked. The Hunger Games are a sadistic practice to keep the twelve districts of Panem in line. Last year's contest was particularly brutal, as every 25 years, a special Quarter Quell edition with a twist is introduced into the Games. Previous iterations have included a special Election in place of the Reaping, double the number of tributes (ironically, District 12 had our only Victory that year) and last summer's 75th Hunger Games had children below Reaping age, from 5 to 11 enter the arena.

I quickly smooth down my royal blue Reaping dress and slip out of place with the other 18-year-olds. I quickly find Mother and Primrose in the crowd. Beside them is my best friend and hunting partner, Gale Hawthorne, who has been free of the Reaping for two years now. He hugs me.

"Congratulations, Catnip. Now you can get going with life."

I smile - a rare thing for me. Catnip is a nickname that Gale gave to me when we first met in the woods - a mispronunciation of my name. "The only thing in life that I want to do is hunt in the woods and have the Capitol just leave me alone. It won't be any different, Gale."

Gale gives a jerk of his head. "Come with me. I want to tell you something."

Curious, I follow him out of the crowd, beyond the square beneath the Justice Building, and into an alleyway between some Merchant shops. It would be a trek to get back to my family's house in the Seam, and whatever Gale wants to tell me, it obviously can't wait, from the excited state he seems to be in. He turns back to me and - unexpectedly - takes my hand.

"When I think about what I want out of life, I can only think of one thing." He is staring at me with an unusual intensity. I now find myself regarding him warily, as my eyes suddenly widen in understanding. He isn't... surely not!...

"No... Gale..."

Gale raises a finger to silence me as he moves closer.

"Gale... don't..."

Too late. Gale's arm slides about my neck as he bends down and kisses me passionately on the lips. I feel his other arm slip about my waist, pulling me flush against his body. My palm rests flat against his chest as I confusedly whimper into his mouth. I don't reciprocate the kiss, but I can't find the strength to push him away either. Finally, with a POP!, our lips are wrenched apart. I gasp to intake air.

"Gale... we have to talk about this reasonably..." I placate. All of my principles should be encouraging me to give an emphatic NO, but I don't know what that one word would do to this man who is now looking at me with such adoration, such... hopefulness. Indeed, his eyes - once as hazel as the fresh greenery we would explore together - have now blackened with undeniable lust.

"I have _loved_ you from the moment I clamped eyes on you," he whispers in a lovesick hiss. "What could be more reasonable than to marry you?"

I gape at him, my eyes searching his, the answer obvious to me. "We'd kill each other!" I conclude flatly, without irony.

"Nonsense!" Gale laughs.

"Neither of us can keep our temper -"

"I can... unless provoked." If the conversation were not of such serious things like marriage, I would laugh at that. Even then, there is not much humor there. A provoked temper in this district would give you a one-way ticket to the stocks: maybe not under Head Peacekeeper Cray, but definitely under his successor, Thread.

"We're both stupidly stubborn - especially you - we'd only quarrel!"

"I wouldn't!" And Gale's tone sounds almost childish. Here I can't help but smile, even chuckle a little.

"You can't even propose without quarreling," I admonish him gently. Gale laughs at that. He then presses a sweet kiss into my forehead.

"Katniss... I swear I'll be a saint. I'll let you win every argument. I'll take care of you... and both our families. You wouldn't have to want for anything; you wouldn't even have to hunt unless you wanted to!"

I gaze at him, eyes sad, my mind in torment. I see more difficulties than advantages to us getting married. For one thing, it would mean our friendship would never be the same again. Even if we would marry for friendship, dependency, kinship - a marriage I suppose I could get behind, if I am reticent to marry for economic advantage or even marry for love. But it is an impossible and unrealistic expectation. Unfortunately, it is all too common. Many Seam marriages are based on deep friendship and understanding in lieu of romantic love. Gale would provide for me just as much as I provide for myself and both our families. The problem is that Gale would have to continue working in the mines even more than he already does to care for a wife waiting at home. For that is where I would be. I could not risk losing him to a collapse the way my mother lost my father. In fact, I would refuse to. And Gale's expectation for our marriage would be very different from mine. He knows well my vow to never have children. But I know Gale wants to become a parent. And I'll be hanged before I see any children of ours sent to the Games, even if we have escaped the Reaping ourselves.

But as I look into my best friend's pleading eyes, all of my reservations seem to buckle under the weight of that lingering look alone. Living in District 12, the poorest district of Panem, is a hard life, especially in the Seam. Survival requires much banding together, sometimes in business and many other times in... marriage...

And there is still Prim and Mother to think about. So I square my shoulders, and even though I am terrified, I nod my head.

"Yes. I will marry you."

Gale beams as bright as the sun's rays and kisses me soundly before I can object. "I'll run and tell your mother."

* * *

A few weeks later, I am standing in the living room of my mother's house, by the fireplace, adorned in her wedding dress. Prim attends to me, and off to the side are Gale's mother, Hazelle, her four little ones and Gale, my husband-to-be. He is dressed in a pressed suit, probably his father's. Most Seam families have only one fancy outfit, usually for a Toasting such as this one.

A Toasting is District 12's marriage tradition, after you sign the marriage papers at the Justice Building. No one in District 12 feels truly married without this ritual. Gale and I now kneel beside the meager fireplace and stoke up the fire. We toast a bit of bread Prim collected from the Bakery in town, split it and share it. Then, Gale helps me to my feet and draws me close. My eyes are tinged with the slightest fear as I tentatively let him press his lips to mine. I dare to kiss him back, ever so gently. This kiss changes our relationship forever. We are now man and wife. I am Mrs. Gale Hawthorne, a miner's spouse and will fall asleep next to him in the same bed, in our own house, tonight.


	2. Chapter 2: Baker Forced to Fight

**Chapter 2: Baker Forced to Fight**

I rise lazily from the bed my husband and I have shared for the last 24 years. I am naked as a baby; it was a long night of Gale and I just making love. I was careful to use protection, of course, and my reason for doing so is clearly fortified by our youngest - our only son - wailing for his morning milk in the bassinet across the room.

I glide over to the small cradle where my baby, Orion, lays and draw him close to my breast, exposing one from my nightgown. No sooner have I done so then he latches on and begins to suckle.

I now slip from the master bedroom and move down the hall, rousing our daughters. Sierra, the middle child, is seven. Precocious and witty, Gale says she is a min-version of me in both looks and attitude. I suppose that's why he named her partially after me; Sierra is my middle name. Belle, the eldest and quietest of our children, is twelve; this would be her first Reaping, were it not for this year being the 4th Quarter Quell and with a twist that mercifully eliminates her.

For the 100th Hunger Games, "to show that even adults are not immune to the mistakes of the younger generation, the tributes will be Reaped from beyond the normal Reaping age. Anyone 19 or older is eligible." A perfect reversal of the rule change from a quarter-century ago. My babies are safe, thank Panem. But not me. And Gale is not safe. Neither one of us ever thought we would be confronted by the horrors of the Reaping again.

I would almost love to just have the kids remain in bed, since their presence is not necessary. Unfortunately, the Capitol does not see it that way. Everyone in a district has to attend the Reaping. No exceptions. People who have skipped out have been beaten and even killed.

The girls scamper down to the kitchen table for breakfast and I corral them to eat their morning meal. Upstairs, I hear the shower turn on and know that Gale will be down soon. Reaping Day is one of the few days of the year he is allowed to sleep in. Normally, he is up to head for the mines before dawn, kissing me goodbye when I am only half-awake. He soon joins us, pecking the girls and Orion on the forehead, and giving me a pretty indecent kiss that makes Sierra giggle and prompts Belle to make a face. I smirk, my cheeks burning, but kiss him in return. I know why he practically jams his tongue down my throat. The Reaping brings out the biggest passions in families, because you never know when your last kiss or "I love you" will be; it may very well be today.

On the way to the Justice Building, we pass by the Hob. Greasy Sae, a kind old woman in her 90s with whom Gale and I still trade game, doles out trinkets to the children.

Given the unusual nature of the Quell twist, we meet up with Mother and Prim at the check-in. Prim, an accomplished Healer and only 38, is married to Rory Hawthorne, Gale's younger brother. She has a two-year-old, Bo, on her hip and her five-year-old daughter, Katherine, tearfully clinging to her hand. I have always found it amusing that she and I married into the same family. We adults all check in, and keep the children with us; we really don't have any other choice.

Effie Trinket, our Capitol escort from the Capitol, mounts the stage at exactly 10 AM, and recites District 12's previous Victors. In a century, we have had exactly one. That's right: _one_. Interestingly, the drunk known as Haymitch Abernathy triumphed in the Second Quarter Quell, the one with double the amount of tributes. But the alcohol took him early, a few years after Belle was born.

"Greasy Sae!" Effie calls for the female tribute.

My mouth falls open and there is a gasp from the crowd as the old Seam dealer mounts the stage. I squeeze Gale's hand tightly, pursing my lips to refrain from crying. Greasy Sae has a granddaughter... great-grandchildren... if I didn't have a sprawling family of my own, I would volunteer for her.

"Peeta Mellark!" the male tribute is announced. I nearly topple to the ground.

Peeta Mellark!

 _Oh no_ , I think. _Not him_. All at once, I am taken back in time to our one interaction years ago, as I watch the Baker take the stage. He is only my age...

* * *

 _ **FLASHBACK** : Gale and I had only been married a few months, and we were starving. His position in the mines did not pay well; he had gotten a raised pension when we first wed, but that was a one-time thing. Winter had been cruel that year, with little in the way of game or food. _

_I now traveled through the rain, desperately trying to sell some of my mother's fancier dresses from when she had grown up as a Merchant: fancy ware that she did not need anymore. I had even considered selling my wedding dress, but refrained, knowing Prim would need it someday._

 _I finally collapsed from utter exhaustion outside of the Mellark Bakery in the Merchant section of town. I scarcely had the strength to paw through a nearby trashcan, when a sudden blow at the back of my head made stars appear in front of my eyes. The last time I had seen stars like that, Gale had brought me to orgasm with his mouth on our wedding night..._

 _The Baker's witch of a wife was screaming at me about calling the Peacekeepers, accusing me of being a thief. I did not have the energy with which to respond, and I had no excuse. Her mouth moved, but no sound seemed to come out. She finally left me be, curled up at the base of a tree._

 _A little later, I was just about to give up and go home, meet Gale when he returned from the mines, when I heard a crash from inside the bakery. More shouting. A blonde-haired boy stumbled into the muddy street, with some burnt bread in his arms that was rapidly becoming soggy._

 _I was entranced by the boy. At one point, his eyes met mine from several feet away. Those eyes... eyes as blue as a summer sky..._

 _The boy turned towards a pen with hogs, presumably to feed the useless loaves to them. But then, he unexpectedly tossed them back in my direction, before shuffling back inside and slamming the door behind him._

 _I didn't wait for permission. I snatched them up and ran all the way back to the Seam. Those loaves were all Gale and I had for dinner that night, but we didn't care. Food was food. Although, I never did tell my husband just how I came about that sustenance..._

* * *

I am shaken from my stupor as I feel the cluster of people flow around me; the Reaping is over. I quickly turn to Gale.

"Honey, take the kids home. I'll meet you back there in 10 minutes."

Gale stares at me sympathetically. "Greasy Sae?" I nod. "I'd go with you, but the kids would..."

"Make a scene," I finish for him. "Go!"

There is a long queue waiting to see the old Seam staple, but I finally visit with Greasy Sae and tearfully wish her farewell. She does not cry; rather, she is only serene, and vows to die with dignity. "I've had a long, good life anyway, girl child... well, as a good as can be expected."

I am collected from her room after five minutes. My feet should ordinarily carry me home, but instead, I find them taking me down the hallway to the second holding room. There is no line in front of it, and I wondered... if this might be my last chance...

Screw it. Screw my pride.

The Peacekeepers let me in. Peeta Mellark, the single Baker with no children to speak of, jumps from his place on the cushioned seat by the window. His impossibly blue eyes are wide, as if he has never seen me before.

"What are you doing here?"

His piercing gaze makes my heart speed up in a very disconcerting way and I fold into myself. The way he looks at me... it feels like I am being judged. But I can't let that stop me from saying what I have to say.

"I never got to thank you. For the bread. You tossed to me. It saved my life. And my... husband's." I falter strangely on the last word, as if any mention of Gale does not belong in this conversation. But why would that be? The facts are true as I have laid them out.

I don't expect the Baker to have the faintest clue what I am talking about, but instead he responds quietly, almost in a whisper: "I remember."

I raise my eyes back to his, blinking in surprise. I suddenly feel self-conscious, in my blue Reaping dress that unbelievably still fits me, even though I feel woefully filled-out as I have moved into womanhood, motherhood. I can only imagine what the Baker... _Peeta_ thinks of me, looking like this.

"Well... that's what I came to say." I turn to go.

"Katniss!"

The call of my name makes me spin back around. "Yes?"

Peeta's gaze is witheringly intense, and a clamminess washes over me. I half-expect him to do something, but I can't put my finger on what that something is. But Peeta only says, "Take care of yourself. And those little ones."

I nod. "You take care, too." And I leave him.


	3. Chapter 3: Trade Pins for Blades

**Chapter 3: Trade Pins for Blades**

Over the next four days, I have to rouse Belle, Sierra and Orion and troop them down to the Square, to watch the Training and interviews of our tributes. For most of the day, it is only talking-heads coverage about odds and things like that. In the evenings, Gale joins us when he gets off work at the mines.

The Chariot Parade always kicks off the first evening. Greasy Sae has been dolled up to look thirty years younger than she actually is; her stylists must know she has very little chance for Victory otherwise. And with no Haymitch to help either of them...

But the roar of the crowd intensifies when we see Peeta. One look at him, and I have to avert my gaze as I bounce a squirmy Orion in my arms. The Baker is _beautiful_. Very little needed to be done to help his looks; his naturally chiseled chest and rippling biceps from lifting sacks of flour...

Wait a minute... why am I thinking these thoughts about another man? I have a husband! I force myself to look at Gale by my side, willing thoughts of us having sex to flow into my brain...

The tributes are then whisked into the Training Center for the next three days, where no cameras or coverage will be allowed. On the third evening, after a private session with the Gamemakers, the Training Scores are broadcast. Greasy Sae nets a 6. Peeta Mellark, the Baker, nabs an 8. The Careers of Districts 1, 2 and 4 all get scores in the double-digits.

The fourth and final evening features the interviews with Caesar Flickerman. Greasy Sae draws some sympathy when she vows that she will die with dignity. But Peeta, the very last tribute interviewed, steals the show with his wit and charisma.

"I don't see a wedding ring on your finger, Peeta. You never married?" Caesar's casual observation elicits shrieks from the women in the studio audience, which oddly makes me bristle. The Baker is _not_ some piece of meat to be fought over!

Peeta blushes and looks down. "No. Though I was in love with someone once, many years ago. But she never noticed me. Even married another man."

The audience sighs with sympathy. This is interesting. I had always found it odd that the Baker - the youngest of three strapping brothers - never married. Of course, there was always the occasional rumor floated through Town that he was gay - a crime punishable by death in District 12 and all of Panem, but I had never been one for such gossip.

Caesar encourages Peeta to win anyway, and the evening coverage ends.

* * *

The audience in the Square screams as the spear tip plunges into the tribute's chest. The survivor then takes off into the forested trees and for the first time, we get a clear look at the bodies strewn about. I feel Gale lean against me, planting a kiss into my temple.

"He's done well. I'm surprised."

I smile at my husband wanly, before rocking Orion in my arms and cooing to him. The Baker has indeed done better than anyone expected from a District 12 tribute. It's been years since one of ours survived the Bloodbath on the first day.

Thirteen tributes just perished in this opening round of the Quell. Eleven left to play. Greasy Sae is not among them, as I knew she wouldn't be; she didn't even try to fight. But Peeta got away, grabbing a backpack and spear and putting in that impressive final kill of the opening round before disappearing.

The six Careers, predictably still intact, go hunting for their remaining competition. With so few outliers, I know they will complete this dirty work and get bored very quickly, eventually having no choice but to turn on each other. Careers are illegally trained for the Games from practically birth; they win almost every year. When they aren't on the warpath, the Careers stand guard over the Cornucopia and almost all of the supplies.

And this is where they are when, on a shocker of a second day, the bombs rigged beneath the tribute pedestals, thought to be dormant after the first minute of the Games, go off with no explanation. All six are killed.

Coverage from Caesar and his associate, Claudius Templesmith, makes it clear that this was not a part of the plan. It is presumed that a Gamemaker pressed an incorrect button sequence mistakenly. Regardless of intent, I know that that Gamemaker will not be around to see next year's arena.

Five tributes now remain, their paths to the Crown cleared exponentially: the man from 3, the man from 6, the woman from 7, the man from 10 and Peeta.

At sundown on the third day, the Gamemakers hold a Feast, much to the Capitol audience's chagrin. The blunder with the Careers makes everyone feel like the Games are being rushed to a hasty conclusion, to save face.

The Feast takes place at the Cornucopia. The men from 3 and 6, the weaker wood of the remaining field, are hacked to death quickly by the woman from 7. Then, the man from 10 engages her in a fierce duel, and in a twist, overpowers her. All the while, my eyes are scanning the screen searchingly, an unnerving fear in my eyes: where is the Baker?

The man from 10 is gasping for breath, winded, waiting to see if his Top Two challenger will emerge from hiding when suddenly - THUNK!

The spear flies like a javelin through his chest, piercing him right over his heart.

"Ladies and gentlemen: the Victor of the 100th Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark!"

The square erupts in cheers, and I loop an arm about Gale's neck, smashing our baby boy between us as I kiss him soundly. For the first time in 50 years, a tribute of District 12 is coming home alive.

* * *

I go to visit the Mellark Bakery with the girls and Orion not long after the Baker returns home. Prim also comes along on the fine summer's day, to help me corral them; unfortunately, Gale is on duty in the mines today.

Peeta is kind, as usual, giving each of my little ones frosted cookies for free, and allowing my sister to examine and Heal a recent oven burn of his. But there is something in his deep blue eyes that has forever changed. There is a sadness there now... a deep sadness that I will never understand.

Just as we are saying our goodbyes, a piercing siren wails through the district. Sierra covers her ears, annoyed, as Orion starts to shriek in protest, his sensitive ears ringing. "What is that?"

My eyes fly open in a panic and I practically shove my family out the door. "The mines. There's been a collapse... come on!"

A crowd has already gathered, talking in low whispers as a plume of smoke is observed emanating from the mine entrance. I push through the crowd to the front and see unharmed miners coming up through the elevators that are still operational. Some of them are dragging bodies - some forms are clearly corpses, others are badly injured. And one of the injured being dragged looks to be...

"GALE!"

I sprint to his side, leaving Prim with the children. Thom, the Miner Foreman, carried him all the way out of there and graciously agrees to continue doing so until we reach our home, where Mother and my sister can examine the extent of his injuries.

Their prognosis is shattering.

Gale is completely, permanently paralyzed from the nose down. He can't move, and he can't speak. He is barely alive, and all that can be done is to nurse him back to health in our bedroom, in our bed.

My girls and little boy still have their Daddy. And yet, at the same time, it is like they are fatherless.


	4. Chapter 4: I'm Married Kiss Me

**Chapter 4: I'm Married... Kiss Me**

After the mining collapse and Peeta's return from the 100th Hunger Games, life in District 12 becomes Hell on Earth.

A plague whistles through the district like the winter wind that swirls outside our weak doors. The district's children seem to be especially susceptible to it, and it is with horror that even with Mother and Prim desperately treating them, I watch as many begin to die.

Several months of this go on before the Peacekeepers begin to feel actively concerned. But I know their panic is hollow - they are only freaking out that there will not be any children left of Reaping age to send to the Games. In between all these low murmurings and constant fear, I have to grieve and bury the middle of my three children, Sierra. And still take care of my bedridden husband, who is paralyzed from the nose down.

It is not long before the District 12 government decrees that all couples forgo safe sexual practices. An embargo is placed on birth control and all contraceptives, and the last of Mother's supply quickly runs out. I would be made to make love to my husband too, were it not for his being close to a vegetable. All women of childbearing years must get pregnant, to give our district a future, the government says. Bring up the population.

One evening, as I am breast-feeding Orion, my one-year-old, Mother turns to me with a pained, sad expression. "I know you can't become pregnant with Gale," she tells me sadly. "But the law is the law, Katniss. Find someone else to couple with. Have another baby."

I want to glower at her. Not only does it go against my principles, but to betray Gale in that way. I could never do it! Besides, there is no man who might appeal to me, even among the few who are unmarried.

Except one... and he may be my only chance to avoid execution by the Peacekeepers if I am not with child again soon.

* * *

I am amazed that my blue Reaping dress still fits, even after the changes to my body that have come from giving birth thrice over. Slipping into our bedroom, I give a kiss to my husband's forehead, where he is lying in our bed. My eyes prick with tears. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

It is a dark and stormy night as I make the journey up the hill towards the Victor's Village, where only one light is on. One house is occupied. Still, I force my feet to keep moving.

I knock with purpose, but my courage fails me as soon as Peeta opens to door. But he kindly offers me in before I can run away, closing the door behind us both furtively.

"I am surprised you are here, Katniss. What's happened? Is everyone OK?" He clears his throat. "I heard about Sierra," and in the dim light of his mansion, I am amazed to find his eyes shining with tears. "I am so sorry."

I choke back a sob, remembering how he has helped me through the years. Throwing that bread to save me and Gale when we were starving. Trading with me year after year when he had no incentive. Looking out for my sister. I shake my head to clear it.

"It's this new law! And Gale can only just lie there! Sierra is gone! Mother and Prim are being worked to the bone! And if I don't get pregnant again... my other babies will have no one..." I feel Peeta's warm hand squeeze mine.

"Katniss... let me help you. I love you."

I knew it. I knew it all along. I suspected that it was me of whom he spoke of loving at his interview. And I feel as though, despite it being impossible, I am in love with him. Heat floods my cheeks as Peeta's calloused palms cup my face, tilting my chin upwards. I can hear the traitorous pounding of my heart. I gaze at him, eyes wide with fear, even as I visibly gulp. "I'm married..." I whisper.

Peeta inches closer. "I know."

I have to be brave. For myself and for my children. And damn it - I've wanted this for years. My face draws into a hard line. "Kiss me," I murmur.

Peeta swoops down in the next second and kisses me full on the mouth for the first time. We both gasp and moan at the electric feeling of finally, after years of lingering looks across the Square, years of silently trading squirrels for game with him, we physically join. It is true magic.

My sexually-starved body awakens as Peeta's lips slant over mine, at first conquering and then slowly coaxing a response from me. I give in to my most basic desires and now participate in my own seduction. Draping my arms about Peeta's neck, I feel myself kiss him back.

As soon as I relax and I exhale into his mouth, parting my lips for him, Peeta's tongue fires between the split, twining around mine and dragging it into his own mouth. His hands fall into my long brown curls, pulling my head closer to his with a low groan. I grip the nape of his neck tightly for purchase.

It is the best kiss I have received, quite honestly, having only ever locked lips with Gale.

Peeta's hands are now roaming everywhere, smoothing down the sway of my back, gliding up my waist, squeezing my breasts - breasts that have grown rounder and heavier with each of my pregnancies. His palm now caresses, pets down the accentuated curve of my ass, gripping the tender flesh there. Childbearing has fattened my rear up a little beyond my liking, and feeling embarrassed, I slap his hand away, firmly move it back up to my waist. But Peeta is insistent, groping and feeling up my buttocks and the flesh along my thigh until I assertively raise my leg and hook it around his torso. Gale always liked it when I did that as we made love, and Peeta's shuddering moan tells me he has similar preferences. I pant heavily into his lips.

"Take me to bed," I gasp into his mouth. Peeta lifts me off my feet, picks me up as if I weigh nothing and I fold both my legs about his waist. We stagger up the stairs and into his bedroom, where Peeta proceeds to throw me down onto his mattress. We keep our lips as sealed together as possible, our kisses becoming almost frantic as we tear at each other's clothes, working to undress each other. The bodice of my blue Reaping dress is yanked down, exposing my bare breasts. Peeta promptly takes the stubby mountain of one of my rosebud nipples into his mouth, suckling it with a greed that none of my three children possessed, even during feedings for their mommy's milk. I gasp, my jaw going slack, and my body cants into his as my fists grasp the railings of his headboard so hard, my knuckles turn white.

Settling between my spread-eagled legs, Peeta thrusts into me with an ease and an effortlessness that astounds me. He is so much bigger than Gale... I can tell only by feeling; the Baker and Victor's girth must be quite impressive. My head lolls back into the pillow; underneath us, the bedframe creaks and sways in protest.

"Mmmmm... Hmmmmmm... Uhhhhh... GUHHHHHH! UHHHHHH! UHHHHHH!" I moan and wail, so loudly that I am sure half the district can hear us.

With a growl, I feel Peeta explode his semen inside of me, and my whole body shudders as I cry out. "Oh God!" I follow in my orgasm.

We lie there, our bodies slick with sweat and unified, panting at the sexual tension between us having finally been broken at last.

Peeta pulls out, and I have no time to ask what he is doing before his head is between my legs, his mouth hot on my clit. I squeeze my thighs together as tight as I dare, trapping his skull in place so that I can more frantically buck my pelvis into his face. "Yes, Peeta... yes!" With another shout, I cum all over again, cum hard on Peeta's jaw.

Shifting slightly, I can see that my moans of delight have aroused Peeta, I can see his impressive manhood hard and bulging and throbbing.

"Put... put your mouth on me," Peeta rasps.

I smirk, and with a boldness I did not even know I had, one that I wonder if it was ever there when Gale and I had sex, I flip us both, so that I am now the one straddling Peeta. My ass sits astride his thighs as I begin to roll my hips along his member, the motion coming all the way into my back, teasing him a little. Readying him even further for me.

"Katniss..." Peeta growls.

I rise my torso gracefully off him, to pull out. Dipping my head, I now place my mouth on him. In fact, I swallow his manhood nearly whole, so that the tip presses into the back of my throat. Peeta humps desperately upwards, so that his foreskin is slapping the roof of my mouth. Curling a fist along the base of his length, I rub just as fast with my palm as I am doing with my lips. I pump the shaft up and down, Peeta's shrieks ringing in my ears until at last -

"KATNISS!" My lover explodes inside my mouth, inundating my esophagus with his juices. Closing my eyes in pleasure, I greedily gulp down every last drop of his seed like a baby before tenderly extracting my lips from him. Crawling over him like a cat and kissing his lips deeply once more, I languidly collapse on top of him and we fall asleep in each other's arms.

I hope our fucking helped make a baby inside of me. But even if it did, I still feel a twinge of regret at having to become an adulteress. I hope my husband, even in his incapacitated state, can forgive me.


	5. Chapter 5: Pregnant by Another Man

**Chapter 5: Pregnant by Another Man**

My animalistic night of love-making with Peeta must have done the trick, for all too soon, I can feel my stomach rounding. Feel my breasts ballooning as they are laden, weighed down by a mother's milk, once more.

When Mother and Prim examine me, they are shocked to learn that I am carrying twins. My pregnancy saves me from the stocks and possibly even certain execution.

I do not make an effort to hide my body from my husband. I tell him that I slept with the Baker, and that I had little choice. Though he cannot speak, Gale seems to understand.

Nine months later, I go into labor in the dead of night. Peeta is summoned from Victor's Village and is by my side the entire time. I give birth to a boy and a girl, whom I name Eric and Clementine. They will keep the name of their mother, to protect them, for if word got out that they were the offspring of a Victor, they would be Reaped for the arena in due course, guaranteed. Peeta doesn't mind, tearfully kissing me in front of Belle, Orion, Mother and Prim; he tells me he has always wanted to have a child by me.

Soon after my twins are born, Gale succumbs to the injuries he has battled for nearly a year and a half. We bury him out back of the fence, near the woods he so loved.

* * *

One muggy fall evening, the fall after Gale's death. I don Mother's wedding dress for the second time. Kneeling beside the fireplace with Peeta Mellark, we Toast a bit of bread and share it - a loaf of bread he baked himself. When Peeta pulls me into his arms, I only hesitate for a moment before allowing him to kiss me deeply. Closing my eyes and yanking him close, I kiss him sensuously back. Belle and toddler Orion applaud; Mother and Prim bounce Eric and Clementine in their arms.

Thus do I take a second husband. And that evening, I take my new husband to bed and make love to him, consummating our marriage. I am no longer the Baker's Mistress. I am the Baker's Wife.


End file.
